Internet at Sea

[tillybobs]

Is this possible or is it just where you can get mobile reception? Thanks in advance

[fastcat435]

With a good satellite provider broadband speeds are possible almost worldwide

greetings

Gideon

[SaucySailoress]

I enquired about this last month, and the figures I was given by Inmarsat are:

The FBB 150 is the smaller unit of the two, and is priced at £3,999 (+vat). The larger FBB 250 comes in at £6,999 (+vat).

The main features of the FBB 150 are as follows:

- Fast Internet, speeds of up to 150 kb/s (comparable to a low-end home broadband system from BT)
- You can make telephone calls and access the interent at the same time!
- Fairly small antenna, less than 30cm in diameter
- Super light-weight antenna, at less than 4kg

It's a great unit, and setup is pretty quick and very straightforward ("Plug-and-Play"). Installation involves fitting a suitable mounting point e.g. a pole, then running the antenna cable through the boat. We would normally also supply you with a pole mounting bracket (£179+VAT) suitable for attaching straight to a 2" pole.

The FBB 250 comprises all the above features, but with increased internet speeds, a more sensitive antenna, and two extra computer network sockets. You're looking at speeds of up to 284 kb/s on the FB250.

Running costs for the both units are as follows:

- Monthly line rental = $0 (free!)
- Voice calls (landline) = $1.36/min
- Internet data = $12.28/MB

These running costs tend to work out cheaper than the Iridium, mainly due to no line rental costs and dramatically cheaper internet data costs.

This makes it a very costly option, when you can get a wireless connection in month countries for under $50pm!! Do a search - the issue was discussed in detail recently.

[speciald@ocens.]

I use Globalstar with a web accelerator and Firefox. Before anybody comments - the first of the new sattelites will be launched in September on a Russian launch vehicle, followed shortly by the rest of the series. There will still be no coverage in the mid-Atlantic but it is much faster than Iridium. You can get the phone and black box for less than the Iridium costs and right now there are unlimited minutes for less than a cell phone contract.

[ka4wja]

tillybobs,
Well, this has been discussed before....and in quite detail, so I will not repost it all here.....instead, I'll answer you briefly and refer you to the detailed info.....

1) Internet access, while at sea, is a service that is not needed by 99.9% of the cruisers / offshore voyagers.....
See this recent post for some thoughts on comms...
http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ium-43509.html


2) Broadband, always-on, internet access, worldwide, at sea IS available and HAS been available for quite some time.....although, in years past the equipment was bigger, heavier, and fairly power-hungry...nowadays it IS useable on small vessels (say 32' - 35' and up), but.....
But, it is still VERY expensive.....

See these posts for the details:
SSCA Discussion Board • View topic - Satellite Internet Service?
and
http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ion-34087.html


3) If you can afford the approx $5000+ for equipment and the few hundred $$$ per month in usage fees, you CAN have an Iridium Open Port, or INMARSAT Fleet Broadband 150, system and service.....
And, if you've really got the big $$$$$$, you can step up to the FB 250 or FB500, etc.....


4) If you can deal with slow dial-up speeds (9.6k maximum raw thru-put / compareable to approx. 15 - 20k thru-put using compression), and not always availble.....then Globalstar is / will be, an option.....
But, not something I'm comfortable recommending....

{And, yes, speciald I am aware of the Globalstar launch announments, but unless you've already got the equipment/service (as I suspect that you do), I'd not feel comfortable recommending Globalstar at all, until they've launched, tested, and activated an entire new satellite fleet, not just 6 new birds......
Please understand I'm NOT trying to flame your post, and I do agree that anything that Globalstar does to improve things IS a good thing, but I'm not convinced their 6 new birds are actually going to provide a truly viable service.....
But, I do truly hope that I'm proved wrong!!!}



I hope this helps...


John
s/v Annie Laurie

[tillybobs]

Thank you all for your detailed replys. I think for the prices you say I will stick to a dongle in port. That is when I get the boat finished. Thanks again

[CNC-Charters]

Has anyone tried this or another system like it?

5 Mile Wifi; internet conection Wifi booster for marine and boating use

[denverd0n]

Lots of people use various methods for extending wifi reception. Do a search on the forum and you'll probably find a couple of dozen threads. That is a whole different thing, however, from the subject of this thread, which is internet at sea. No matter what you do, wifi is still a line-of-sight technology, so you aren't going to get it "at sea."

[KeithJ]

I have a Bitstorm WiFi amplifier on my arch and a router down below for wireless access. It has an excellent range and I have received WiFi from 5 miles away and it was from a in home router system..

[CNC-Charters]

Originally Posted by KeithJ

I have a Bitstorm WiFi amplifier on my arch and a router down below for wireless access. It has an excellent range and I have received WiFi from 5 miles away and it was from a in home router system..

have you tried using Skype or another VOIP with it?

[KeithJ]

No I have not had the chance yet.

[twistedtree]

I think you need to look at it as a series of solutions, not a single one. As you work though the choices, the speed gets slower and the cost gets higher.

1st choice is wifi. Using a wifi extender like Island Time or one of the others will greatly extend range, but it's usually only good at anchor or in a marina.

2nd choice is 3G or 4G. Typically there is wider coverage than wifi, and it works while underway in most coastal situation.

3rd choice is satellite. There are a number of choices ranging from slow to really slow, and from super expensive to stupid expensive. But if you still need internet where there is no wifi or 3G, like out at sea, it's the only option.

I've got 1 & 2 on board and 90% of the time one or the other works while coastal cruising. As I turn my eyes to ocean crossings, I'll probably have to suck it up and get some sort of satellite, but I'm holding off as long as possible.

[rebel heart]

9/10 times it's easier to just call someone on a sat phone and ask them for whatever information you were planning on google'ing. I use my iridium sat phone with twitter: works pretty well. I only pay for messages I send. All my friends and family get my updates that way, and they can send me messages.

[bobconnie]

I guess Connie and I being old makes this a silly subject! We can and do live without internet aboard, except for wi-fi in her laptop. Infact except for watching movies we don't even use our TV at sea! Im always to busy doing little (or big) things about the boat, and Connie loves to cook and bake, and read on her kindle. So all this expensive stuff is nothing we need ! Heck we are still learning how to do better with our SSB Modem for sending e-mail to our kids !! We have been cruiseing without internet for over 30 yrs but have always been able to get messages to folks via SSB-Ham radio, without any mounthly bills !! guess we are gonna stay that way if ya gotta pay what folks are talking about in this and other threads!! just sayin we sorta like the peacefull anchorages without internet!!

[gts1544]

We use a small Alpha 1 Networks USB adapter aboard our boat for wifi in the anchorages and had had good range and luck. About $30 at Amazon.com with a few bucks more for some antenna extension cables to elevate the antenna up above the deck. gts1544